A genetic interval and physical contig spanning the Peronospora parasitica (At) avirulence gene locus ATR1Nd

In Peronospora parasitica (At) (downy mildew), the genetic determinants of cultivar-specific recognition by Arabidopsis thaliana are the Arabidopsis thaliana-recognised (ATR) avirulence genes. We describe the identification of 10 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers that define a genetic mapping interval for the ATR1Nd avirulence allele, the presence of which is perceived by the RPP1Nd resistance gene. Furthermore, we have constructed a P. parasitica (At) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library comprising over 630Mb of cloned DNA. We have isolated 16 overlapping clones from the BAC library that form a contig spanning the genetic interval. BAC sequence-derived markers and a total mapping population of 311 F(2) individuals were used to refine the ATR1Nd locus to a 1cM interval that is represented by four BAC clones and spans less than 250kb of DNA. This work demonstrates that map-based cloning techniques are feasible in this organism and provides the critical foundations for cloning ATR1Nd using such a strategy.